His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Say, I only warn you by revelation, and the deaf do not hear the call when they are warned." "And if a breath of the punishment of your Lord touches them, they will surely say, 'Woe to us! Indeed, we were wrongdoers.'" The meaning is: Say, O you who are proposing and exaggerating, I only warn you by a revelation that Allah inspires to me, and by indications of the lessons that Allah, exalted is He, has set for you to reflect upon, such as the decrease of the earth from its edges and others. And I have not been sent with a continuous sign nor with what you propose. Then He said: "And the deaf do not hear" meaning: And you are turning away from what I warn you with, so it is of no benefit to you, and He likened their matter to the deaf. The majority of the reciters read: "And the deaf do not hear" with the pronoun referring to "the deaf." Ibn 'Amir alone read: "And He does not make the deaf hear" with the pronoun attached and the 'm' of "hear" broken and "the deaf" in the accusative. A group read: "And the deaf are not made to hear" with the 't' being pronounced and the 'm' opened and the verb being constructed for the object. Both groups made "the call" accusative. Another group read: "And the deaf do not hear the call" with "the deaf" added to "the call," which is a weak reading although it is plausible. Then Allah, exalted is He, addressed Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, threatening them with His saying: "And if a breath of the punishment of your Lord touches them," and a breath means a slight touch, as you say: He touched with his hand when he inclined it in this manner striking towards a direction. From it is "the breath of perfume" as if it touches the senses. From it is: He touched him from His gifts when he took a share from them. From it is: "The horse touched with its leg" when it galloped. The meaning is: And if these disbelievers were to feel a shock of punishment in their worldly life, they would surely regret and acknowledge their wrongdoing.